Attorney: Kentucky schools should remove 'prayer lockers'

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An attorney for a Kentucky public school board says complaints have prompted him to recommend the district remove "prayer lockers" from inside its schools.

Pike County School Board Superintendent Reed Adkins told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Kentucky's Office of Education Accountability and a national organization advocating for separation of church and state have both said they received complaints about the practice.

Students can request prayers for themselves or others by slipping a piece of paper into a repurposed locker. It's unclear who started them.

Attorney Neal Smith says he's asking principals to stop the initiative. He says religious student groups that meet before or after school are "perfectly OK," but having a space in the hallway during school hours and encouraging students to use it likely violates the first amendment.